Barnfield College

Barnfield College is the largest further education college in Bedfordshire, England, with two campuses in Luton.

Barnfield College
TypeFurther education
Establishedc. 1968
FounderJim Horroks
PrincipalCath Gunn
Location
Luton, Bedfordshire,
England
Websitebarnfield.ac.uk

Campus locations
  • New Bedford Road Campus, New Bedford Road, Luton, LU2 7BF
  • Technology Campus, Enterprise Way, Luton, LU3 4BU

Faculty areas

Faculty of Business Enterprise and Retail

  • Business and Management
  • Hospitality and Catering
  • Accountancy
  • Higher Education

Faculty of Creative Arts

  • Art and Design
  • Hairdressing
  • Media and Communications
  • Beauty and Holistic Therapy
  • Performing Arts and Music
  • Fashion and Textiles
  • Higher Education

Faculty of Technology

  • Construction Trades
  • Plumbing
  • Electrical
  • Computing
  • Engineering
  • Networking
  • Motor Vehicle
  • Higher Education

Faculty of Care, Public Services, Sport and Leisure

  • Child Care
  • Public Services
  • Health and Social Care/HE
  • Sport and Fitness
  • Travel and Tourism
  • Dental
  • Higher Education/Access

Faculty of Skills Development

  • Additional and Learning Support
  • Functional Skills
  • Language Skills

History

In 1958, Luton Technical School moved to a new building off Barnfield Avenue, and the name of the school was changed to Barnfield Secondary Technical School. With the introduction of comprehensive schools in Luton in 1967, it became Barnfield High School. The number of pupils declined; in 1968 parts of the building were taken over for teaching hairdressing and dressmaking; and in 1970 the College of Further Education took over the whole building.[1]

In 2003, Barnfield College became the first general further education college to be awarded Beacon status.[2]

Barnfield Federation

Peter Birkett was appointed as principal in 2005, and the College became the first further education college in Britain to sponsor an academy school (Barnfield South Academy and Barnfield West Academy).[3] It was also selected by the DfES to run one of the first studio schools in Britain (Barnfield Skills Academy). The Federation was also the first to launch a 14-18 Law & Accountancy Academy for students who would like to follow a career as an Accountant or Lawyer.[4] At its peak, the Barnfield Federation included a nursery, primary and secondary schools and a college - sponsored by Barnfield Education Partnership Trust. Dame Jackie Fisher joined that Federation as Interim Chief Executive Officer in February 2014.[5]

As of October 2013, the federation was under investigation by the Department for Education and the Skills Funding Agency as reported in the media, and was also under a pre-warning notice.[6][7] As of January 2014, the investigation had been escalated; it was reported that the FE Commissioner Dr David Collins was carrying out a two-week investigation.[8]

As reported on BBC Three Counties Radio on 18 February 2014, via an alleged leaked report from the UK Government, a key element of the investigation had been focussed on a £915,000 funding claim for students that did not study at the college.[9][10]

The outcome of the reports were jointly announced on 28 February 2014 [11] by multiple news sources, which summarised reports from the FE Commissioner,[12] the Skills Funding Agency [13] and the EFA.[14]

In July 2014 it was announced that the schools would be split from Barnfield College to form their own multi-academy trust. The college would then focus on further and higher education provision.[15] In 2015 the schools split from Barnfield and formed the Shared Learning Trust.

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References
  1. A. Allsopp, Crimson and Gold: Luton Modern School, Luton High School for Girls and Luton Technical School, pages 375-397, ISBN 1-903747-55-4, Book Castle, 2004.
  2. Success for All, May 2003, page 3.
  3. Ex-Barnfield boss talks ghost learners, financial probes and the Audi pay-off, FE Week, 30 May 2014.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-26151686 Dame Jackie Fisher named as new chief of Barnfield Federation
  6. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-24659157
  7. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-warning-notice-to-barnfield-college
  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-25761701
  9. http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/crime/barnfield-investigation-referred-to-police-1-5884085
  10. "Barnfield College 'wrongly claimed' £1m of funding". BBC News. 26 February 2014.
  11. http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/news/education/damning-report-of-barnfield-investigation-is-published-1-5907057
  12. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/282645/140214_Lord_Nash_Matthew_Hancock_letter_to_Barnfield.pdf
  13. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-agency-barnfield-college-investigation
  14. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-management-and-governance-review-barnfield-federation
  15. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-28458478

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